


nice to have a friend

by coffeecrowns



Series: everyone lives [3]
Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: AroAcing The Line 2021, Aromantic, Asexuality, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Gossip, Multi, Nail Polish, Neurodiversity, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Stimming, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29720442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeecrowns/pseuds/coffeecrowns
Summary: Day 5 of AroAcing the line: Family and Friends!Azu, Cel, and Sasha hang out, paint each others nails, and talk about kissing.
Relationships: Azu & Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom, Azu & Sasha Racket, Sasha Racket & Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom
Series: everyone lives [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2010019
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	nice to have a friend

**Author's Note:**

> this is part of my loosely connected "everyone but Bertie lives" au, it's what it says on the tin and this one requires no other info from that. 
> 
> did they have nail polish in 18mumblemumble? don't worry about it
> 
> I write Sasha as aroace and Cel as generally aspec and also they are ND (is this projecting? Yes.)

Cel really likes their new friends. They didn’t know what they were getting into, not really. This is not really surprising. Still, within the wide range of things they’ve experienced, this all is A Lot. The airship is, well it’s interesting. They only have the one thing to worry about - okay there’s three elementals, but one engine - and they’re used to having tons of projects. 

Not that Sasha is a project! She is just really reserved. She blends into the shadows, and gets along with the kobolds just as well as Cel does, better in some ways. She’s quiet in a way Cel is not. She’s got little bombs, and they aren’t her primary weapon of choice, and Cel knows Sasha is really very smart. 

There’s no magic in what Sasha does. Well, there’s plenty of magic in the metaphorical sense. She's so good at what she does, it should be magic. But there’s no crossing that line between science and magic Cel likes to play jump rope with when it comes to their potions. Point is, Cel is a little bit bored without any explosions, and they have other outlets. The ship really isn’t all that big, and Sasha must be bored. 

Cel is also out of practice making new friends. They go to the obvious expert, Azu. Somehow, they find themselves taking refuge in the little space by the engines, where it warm. Azu has strung up some sheets from gods know where, and it’s really cozy. 

“Oh Azu,” they say. “This is so nice!” 

“Thank you,” Azu grins, holding a surprisingly large collection of nail polish, “I don’t know if you ever paint your nails, but I thought Sasha might like it.” 

Sasha, as if summoned, comes up behind them. She eyes the box of paints. 

“What’s that all about?” she asks. 

“Nail polish!” Azu says. “We don’t have to do it. It’s just something I picked up at seminary.” She blushes slightly at that, and Cel really doesn’t know where that comes from. They look to Sasha, who just gives a small shrug. 

“We can give it a go.” 

They run into a problem immediately. Sasha can’t stand the smell of nail polish, and Cel really isn’t fond. Cel isn’t sure if Sasha or Azu is more upset, and that simply won’t do. Cel goes and grabs every single potion ingredient they brought with them. In the blanket fort they mix a few things together, Sasha staring in wide eyed excitement and Azu with both interest and mild horror. She claps when the small puff of smoke comes off the test tube, and it feels so nice in Cel’s chest. 

They test it on themself first, rubbing a touch just below their nose. And then all of sudden they can’t smell a thing. It’s a touch disconcerting, but it doesn’t hurt, nothing dangerous happens. Sasha and Azu copy their example, and then Sasha cautiously opens a shimmery black polish, and grins. 

“Do you want me to paint your nails?” Cel offers. “Or Azu, do you want to? Or I mean, you can do it yourself, obviously, I just think-”

“We can take turns,” Azu suggests. “You paint Sasha’s, she paints mine, I paint yours.” 

“That works,” Sasha says, in a small but eager voice. “I’ve never-” her voice trails off. 

“My hands are big so it’ll be easiest. And it’s just paint.” Sasha relaxes at that. Then she offers a hand to Cel. 

Sasha has small hands with stubby nails. They think she probably bites them. It’s odd to think about how Sasha’s hands are her life, clever and scarred. The shimmery black is stark against her pale skin. Sasha’s other hand is absently playing with her sleeve. 

“What else did you do in seminary?” Sasha asks, not looking away from the smooth strokes of pigment on her nails. 

“You know, Practice fighting, Healing lessons, Kissing.” 

“I don’t like kissing,” Sasha says. “I don’t like any of it.” 

“Oh, that’s fine!” Azu says, quickly. “Not everyone does. Aphrodite cares about love, not the types or expressions. I wasn’t suggesting we kiss.” 

“I mean I like kissing,” Cel says. “But I don’t really do all the other romantic stuff with it. Unless I do. But it’s not very often. And I know you have that thing with Kiko-” Azu blushes. 

“She’s very pretty,” Azu says. 

“She’s nearly as tall as you and has a nice singing voice,” Sasha says, in a tone that sounds like approval. 

“This is also true,” Azu says, somewhat wistfully. It’s very sweet. Cel likes seeing other people in love, especially people like Azu who so deserve nice things. There is a comfortable silence, and then Cel starts to get bored as they finish Sasha’s nails and pick out an electric green for Azu to paint their own nails. 

“So kissing is off the table, neither Sasha and I know healing, and we can’t fight with wet nails. What else is there?” Cel asks. 

“Can’t do any lockpicking neither,” Sasha adds dejectedly. “We don’t need to make plans to take down any rivals. No one is trying to kill us. Zolf makes food, so we don’t have to worry about that. That’s pretty much all Brock and I used to do.” 

Not for the first time, Cel wants to kill every adult who had a hand in Sasha’s upbringing. From the way Azu’s hands freeze, Cel figures she has the same idea. They are momentarily distracted by Azu’s hands. Her black skin is lovely and smooth, and her (currently) unpainted nails are well trimmed ovals. She holds Cel’s hand like it is precious, even though their skin is dry and stretched around hands factors of magnitude older than Azu is. Azu alternates electric green and a dark purple, and it’s really fun, if not a tad distracting. At least they aren’t alone in that, Sasha has been lightly moving her fingers around to see how they catch the light. They can feel how it’s heavy and wet, but it isn’t bad. 

“We can talk about what’s going on with Oscar and Zolf?” Azu offers. “They both seem a lot happier these days.” 

“It’s nice to see them figure things out,” Cel replies. “Sasha, you knew them both before all this. What do you think?”

Sasha thinks. “Zolf finds Wilde funny now. I liked talking to them both, and now they’re good at talking to each other.” Azu hands her a vial of a surprisingly soft pink, with little flecks of gold in it. Sasha’s hands are clever and seem even smaller when holding Azu’s. She goes completely still, deeply focused on methodical strokes of the brush. She’s really quite good. Azu has a proud little smile. Cel's pretty sure they share it. 

Cel thinks about the ship they’ve built and the family inside of it, and how nice it is to be good at talking to each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is not the /most/ self indulgent thing I've ever written, but it's definitely up there, so thank you if you have come on this ride with me!


End file.
